Intermediate objectives for the monitoring of family planning services

Since progress during the early stages of a program cannot easily be measured in terms of the ultimate objectives, there is need to develop a set of intermediate indicators for purposes of necessary evaluation and monitoring. Family planning programs suggest a series of useful intermediate objectives that have a clear cause-and-effect relationship with regard to their ultimate goals. It is important that they be expressed as specific targets. They should provide for a numerical definition of the target population; a given time frame; a service design which takes into account patient load, personnel performance, and service capacities; and a record system that can readily retrieve information about service utilization and also identify each patient individually. At the same time, allowance should be made for periodic review and adjustments in light of modifications that are bound to occur in the composition of the target population as well as possible changes of a sociopolitical nature that might affect the program's scope.